What About Those Bad Apples?

I’m going to confess that, indeed, I remember the Osmond Brothers, and in fact, the very first live concert I ever attended was a special surprise for my 10th birthday. My parents and I joined thousands of other pre-teens screaming to the snazzy-white-leisure-suit-dressed Osmond Brothers as they jived to the lyrics of “one bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch girl . . . “ in Anaheim Stadium. I can’t imagine what my parents were thinking, but I was elated.

The song lyrics, a spin-off from the original proverb, “one bad apple spoils the barrel,” was a plea for the girl not to give up on love just because there was one ill-behaved boy out there.

Yet, in recent years, we use this proverb to make excuses for just one person on the team who’s not the very best example of what we stand for or support in our organizations.

“Well, he brings in his numbers,” we might hear someone say as a reason for keeping around the abusive sales manager.

Or, “he’s got a brilliant engineering mind,” when someone wonders why that guy gets special treatment and isn’t held accountable in the same way as his peers. “Customers love her . . . but no one else wants to work with her,” you might hear the business owner say.

?If we can tie some sort of important result to a person whose behavior isn’t in alignment with our company mission or values, isn’t it okay to keep them around?

In short, no.

Although sometimes to imagine your organization without this person’s contributions might seem painful, what you might be missing are the hidden side effects of having someone on the team who really isn’t a good fit—a bad apple, per se.

What are these likely consequences?

1.????Decrease in morale and loss of good workers.

Why would any great leader allow someone to consistently break the rules, abuse co-workers or customers, spread malicious gossip, or foster negativity? Why on earth would I want to work there? The good ones are looking for a way out, if this is going on.

2.????Loss of credibility in leadership.

All employee groups, whether it’s explicit or implicitly stated, have a barometer of fairness by which they are evaluating you as the leader or owner of the business. People don’t actually mind being held to a standard of expectation or performance, but they want everyone else to be, too. When we look only at the technical skill aspect of performance, i.e. sales numbers, tangible results or KPIs (key performance indicators), we miss the overall impact of bad behaviors. You need to hold people accountable for both their technical performance and their interpersonal performance.

3.????Lower overall performance.

Your employees or team members may be thinking, why should I go the extra mile, strive to stretch my goals, or put in the extra time, when this guy isn’t going to and he still gets rewarded? Allowing bad behavior to continue fosters a lack of commitment and a growing sense of apathy. Wouldn’t it be better to have an entire team of top performers, regardless of their focus, than just one person who might excel? Do the math!

What can you do about these team members if, in fact, they are not helping the long term success of your organization and might be, like a bad apple, spreading mold spores to infect the rest of the barrel?

1.????Have a Courageous Conversation.

You must be direct, specific and respectful. If you think it’s at all possible to retain them (and their talents) as employees, you need to confront what’s been going on and what you want instead. Ask for what you want, be specific, share the positive outcomes of their willingness to change behaviors.

2.????Identify a “by when.”

Sometimes, we are so relieved that we actually had the conversation, and addressed the issue, we leave somewhat hopeful that they got the message and will begin working in earnest to make some changes. If you don’t also include a timeframe in which you want to see significant progress or evidence, their sense of urgency and yours may be very different.

?3.????Make a contingency plan.

What if they leave or you need to let them go? Either do your own thinking, or discuss with a trusted confidant and advisor about how you want to handle it if they are no longer a member of your team. Sometimes, the fear of losing a talented bad apple is worse than the reality of their being gone and often (if not always), the whole team or organization can turn around and more than make up for the losses of this person.

For the future, make sure you have a clear Team Agreement in place,

which helps everyone know what’s expected in terms of interpersonal behaviors, and gives you a benchmark for conversations among the whole team.

Reach out if you want to create a powerful Team Agreement for your company or team!

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